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Associated Press butts
heads with BCS
By The Associated Press
NEW YORK � The Associated
Press has told the Bowl Championship Series to stop using its college
football poll to determine which teams play for the national title and
in the most prestigious bowl games.
The BCS has used the AP poll of 65 writers and broadcasters as a
component in its rankings since the system was implemented by officials
from the Big East, Big 12, Big Ten, Atlantic Coast Conference, Pac-10,
Southeastern Conference and Notre Dame in 1998.
The AP said such use was never sanctioned and had reached the point
where it threatened to undermine the independence and integrity of the
poll.
The AP sent BCS coordinator Kevin Weiberg a cease-and-desist letter,
dated Dec. 21, stating that use of the poll is unlawful and harms the
AP's reputation.
``We respect the decision of the Associated Press to no longer have its
poll included in the BCS standings,'' Weiberg said in a statement
Tuesday. ``Since the inception of the BCS, the AP poll has been part of
our standings. We appreciate the cooperation we have received from the
organization in providing rankings on a weekly basis. We will discuss
alternatives to the Associated Press poll at the upcoming BCS meetings
and plan to conclude our evaluation of the BCS standings formula,
including any other possible changes, by our April meeting.''
In its letter, the AP said some of its poll voters had indicated they
might no longer participate because of concerns over having their
reporters be so closely involved in the process of determining which
teams play where.
``By stating that the AP poll is one of the three components used by BCS
to establish its rankings, BCS conveys the impression that AP condones
or otherwise participates in the BCS system,'' the letter said.
``Furthermore, to the extent that the public does not fully understand
the relationship between BCS and AP, any animosity toward BCS may get
transferred to AP. And to the extent that the public has equated or
comes to equate the AP poll with the BCS rankings, the independent
reputation of the AP poll is lost.''
This season, the AP poll and USA Today/ESPN coaches poll were given more
weight than ever in the BCS standings. Each poll accounted for one-third
of a team's BCS grade and total points were factored in, not just
ranking, which was the case before.
A compilation of six computer rankings made up the final third of team's
BCS grade.
That system was installed after Southern California, the No. 1 team in
both the media and coaches poll, was left out of the BCS title game last
season. LSU beat Oklahoma for the BCS title, and USC won the AP title,
creating the type of split championship situation that, in part, the BCS
was created to avoid.
But the new system has also come under fire.
| Text of The Associated
Press statement on the Bowl Championship Series:
"The Associated Press
has not at any time given permission to the Bowl
Championship Series to use its proprietary ranking
of college football teams. This unauthorized use of
the AP poll has harmed AP's reputation and
interfered with AP's agreements with AP poll voters.
To preserve its reputation for honesty and
integrity, the AP is asking the BCS to discontinue
its unauthorized use of the AP poll as a component
of BCS rankings." |
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For the first time in the
BCS era, three teams from major conferences � Southern Cal, Oklahoma
and Auburn � finished unbeaten in the regular season. Auburn was left
out of the Orange Bowl with the same 12-0 record that USC and Oklahoma
had.
More criticism came when Texas passed California for the last at-large
bid in the final BCS standings.
``The Associated Press has not at any time given permission to the Bowl
Championship Series to use its proprietary ranking of college football
teams,'' the AP said in a statement Tuesday. ``This unauthorized use of
the AP poll has harmed AP's reputation and interfered with AP's
agreements with AP poll voters. To preserve its reputation for honesty
and integrity, the AP is asking the BCS to discontinue its unauthorized
use of the AP poll as a component of BCS rankings.''
The BCS system also
created heightened scrutiny of the two polls.
All ballots in the coaches poll are secret, despite numerous calls to
release them, including from Pac-10 commissioner Tom Hansen and Cal
coach Jeff Tedford.
The AP votes are public information, and the final individual ballots
are published the same day as the final BCS standings.
Where the BCS goes from here won't be determined for a while, but
recently Weiberg and Big East commissioner Mike Tranghese have said the
BCS would look into the possibility of using a selection committee to
create the bowl matchups, much like the NCAA Division I basketball
tournament.
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TEXT OF 'CEASE AND DESIST' LETTER FROM AP
TO BCS Text
of the letter sent Dec. 21 from The Associated Press to Bowl
Championship Series coordinator Kevin Weiberg:
Re: BCS Unlawful Use of the AP Poll
Dear Mr. Weiberg:
The Associated Press (``AP'') has become aware of your
unauthorized and unlawful use of AP's college football poll
results (the ``AP Poll'') in preparing the Bowl Championship
Series (``BCS'') rankings of college football teams. Due to the
process by which the BCS rankings are determined, your forced
association of the AP Poll with BCS has harmed AP's reputation
and has interfered with AP's agreements with the AP Poll voters
some of whom have indicated that they may no longer participate
in the AP Poll due to BCS's use of the AP Poll. Similarly, BCS's
incorporation of the AP Poll into its rankings violates AP's
copyright in the AP Poll, and misappropriates the effort that AP
expended in producing the AP Poll.
As you are no doubt aware, AP and BCS have had several
discussions in which BCS has requested that AP assist it in
preparing its rankings. AP has denied BCS's requests each time.
BCS's continued use of the AP Poll interferes with AP's ability
to produce the AP Poll and undermines the integrity and validity
of the AP Poll. BCS has damaged and continues to damage AP's
reputation for honesty and integrity in its news accounts
through the forced association of the AP Poll with the BCS
rankings. By stating that the AP Poll is one of the three
components used by BCS to establish its rankings, BCS conveys
the impression that AP condones or otherwise participates in the
BCS system. Furthermore, to the extent that the public does not
fully understand the relationship between BCS and AP, any
animosity toward BCS may get transferred to AP. And to the
extent that the public has equated or comes to equate the AP
Poll with the BCS rankings, the independent reputation of the AP
Poll is lost. BCS's actions violate AP's rights under the Lanham
Act and state trademark and other laws. Additionally, as briefly
noted above, several AP Poll voters, or the news organizations
for which they work, have indicated an intention to not
participate in the AP Poll for so long as BCS uses the AP Poll
in producing the BCS rankings. BCS's continued use of the AP
Poll directly threatens the existence of the AP Poll.
BCS's systematic harvesting of the facts gathered at great
effort and expense by AP allows BCS to easily produce its
rankings without expending such effort. BCS free-rides both on
AP's investment in gathering the information contained in the AP
Poll, and on the relationships that allow AP to conduct the AP
Poll. In addition, the AP Poll is protected under the Copyright
Act of 1976, 17 U.S.C. � 101, et seq. BCS's unauthorized
incorporation of the AP Poll into the BCS rankings directly
infringes AP's copyrights and is not exempted from infringement
by any provision of copyright law.
AP hereby demands that BCS immediately cease and desist from all
current and future use of the AP Poll in producing the BCS
rankings and that BCS confirm to AP that it has done so by
December 31, 2004. AP reserves all rights with regard to BCS's
actions. We look forward to your response. Please direct all future
correspondence on this matter to me or to AP's legal department.
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TEXT OF ASSOCIATED PRESS
STATEMENT ON THE BCS
"The Associated Press has not at any
time given permission to the Bowl Championship Series to use its
proprietary ranking of college football teams. This unauthorized
use of the AP poll has harmed AP's reputation and interfered
with AP's agreements with AP poll voters. To preserve its
reputation for honesty and integrity, the AP is asking the BCS
to discontinue its unauthorized use of the AP poll as a
component of BCS rankings." |
02/23/07 10:40 AM
�2004
The Associated Press. All
rights rights reserved. This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Bonesville.net contributed to this report.
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